Easter rains could bring wildfire relief

"If we miss those two days or not get anything out of that, we'll be in a really serious situation." - Gary Cole with the Alabama Forestry Commission

MOBILE, Alabama – A stalled cold front over the Mobile area Sunday
afternoon could calm the wildfires that are continuing to spring up around the
area.

The arriving cold front will bring with it a 60 percent
chance of rain on Sunday evening and into overnight on Monday, according to the
National Weather Service in Mobile. The rain chances are 40 percent during the
afternoon on Easter Sunday.

"The moisture levels will increase and it will help
alleviate the dry conditions we're seeing," Jeff Garmon, a meteorologist with
the weather service, said today.

Gary Cole, a regional forester with the Alabama Forestry
Commission in southwest Alabama, is hoping for a wet Easter. He said without any
rain from this coming system, there could be significant issues to address next
week.

"If we miss those two days or not get anything out of that,
we'll be in a really serious situation," he said, adding that AFC firefighters
have been working 15-16 hour days to quell wildfires that have scattered
throughout the state in the past week. Also, he said, the AFC's aging fleet of
equipment needs some down time for maintenance.

No severe weather is expected on Sunday or Monday, although
Garmon said there could be isolated thunderstorms and nickel-sized hail could
come ahead of the frontal system.

"That front won't come screaming through here; it will stall
on top of us," Garmon said. "The longer we get that (rainfall) the better it
will be for increasing the moisture for vegetation that is burning."

Garmon said while the area is not under any "significant
drought," the month has been dry.

Only twice in the past three weeks has there been a rain
event producing at least a quarter-inch of rain. Those two events occurred on
March 23 and March 11.

Cole said that firefighters typically battle wildfires in
Alabama during the month of February. But the past two February's have been
wet, pushing the wildfire issues into March.

He admitted that the past three weeks have been extremely
busy.

"This year, all of a sudden, the last three weeks, it's gone
haywire," Cole said.

The AFC and firefighters throughout southeast Alabama
continue to battle wildfires today. According to the AFC's website, authorities
are battling at least six wildfires including one that started around 2:25 p.m.
in Baldwin County. A wildfire in Washington County has been active since 1:29
p.m., the commission's website confirms.